opposed, 9. abstained, 41. >> the floor is to the secretary general of the united nations. >> mr. president, excellencies, ladies and gentleman, an important vote has taken place today in the general assembly. the decision [indiscernible]

i stand ready to fulfill my role and report to this assembly, as requested in the resolution. my question has been consistent. the palestinians have a right to their own independent state. israel has the right to live in peace and security with its neighbors. there is no substitute for negotiations. today's vote underscores the urgency of meaningful negotiations. we must give a do impetus to ensure an independent democratic state of palestine lives with a secure state of israel.

i urge the parties to renew their commitment for negotiating peace. i count on all to act responsibly, preserve your treatment in state building under the leadership of president abbas and the prime minister. thank you. [applause] >> i think the secretary-general of the united nations for a statement. >> we will break away from the united nations where they have approved palestine f nineor nonmember status by a vote of 138 in favor.

41 countries abstained. i will take you now back to capitol hill. former congressional leaders and vice president joe biden will pay tribute to former new hampshire senator. he died november 19 at the age of 82. he was a key player in the budget negotiation for the 1980's and the ranking republican during the iran- contra hearings. david souter will speak at this event. under way live on c- span.

>> good afternoon everyone. we are still waiting on a few speakers. i will begin. i am the senior senator from new hampshire. i am pleased to be here with my colleague to welcome all of you to this reception celebrating the life and service of warren rudman. we are honored to join in hosting this reception. senator rudman has been hailed as a public servant who reach across party lines to get the job done for his country and his state. his independence and her rich, his focus on maintaining good government, and fierce loyalty to his home state, new hampshire, is something we in

congress strive to attain. we will miss him. we will try to live by the standards he said. i remember when he was chairing the iran contra hearings in this room. even though we were from different parties, i thought how proud i was that he represented the state of new hampshire. i offer my condolences to the entire rudman family, his wife, children, and grandchildren. looking at the celebrated speakers who are here today to remember warren rudman, it is clear just how significant his contributions were to the senate and to the country. i am pleased to introduce my colleague, the other senator from the state of new hampshire. [applause]

>> i want to thank my colleague, senator shaheen. i want to thank our distinguished guests who are here. as we gather to celebrate the achievements of a great man, warren rudman, a statesman who carry out the people's work with honesty, integrity, and decency . daniel webster said -- in the mountains of new hampshire, god almighty has hung out a sign that there he makes men. he was referring to our beloved old man of the mountain. this payments quote could have described -- this famous quote could have described senator rudman. he left a tremendous impact on new hampshire. today we will honor his many

achievements in this esteemed body of the united states senate. he was also -- he also left in new hampshire's a proud legacy at the attorney general office before he served at the senate. i had the privilege of serving as the attorney general of new hampshire. in my view and the views of many others, warren rudman was the finest attorney general to serve in the history of the state of new hampshire because he enhance the stature of the office and he raised the level of professionalism of the attorney general post office. -- 's office. everyone who thereafter serbs as buyers -- serves as five years to serve like he served. he had new hampshire in his

blood. he was straightforward and determined and he used his talents in the u.s. senate to pass important legislation, including the grand rudman deficit law. those issues remain important today. he did not aspire to be a politician. he did not have to like one. he cared deeply. we know he cared deeply about our country and devoted himself because he had a calling to shape and preserve our country's future. he believed deeply in the rule of law and used the force of his intellect to defend it. one of the things that is most telling about warren rudman is the statement that represents

what he was all about. he once said -- i consider myself an american first and a republican second, fiercely independent, and totally committed to the common good. he had the carriage of his convictions and stood for what he believed in. in bidding farewell to to the senate in 1992, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve in the senate which talented colleagues. many are here today to speak about their experiences with him. he expressed his hopes for the future of the senate, saying it is a special place with special people. i hope in the coming years that the institution can coalesce to bring the talents together in a bipartisan way to do what is good for america.

as our country continues to face challenges, may all of us remain wiseful of warren rudman's words and the powerful example that he set. now it is my honor and pleasure to introduce our master of ceremonies today for this memorial tribute, someone that warren rudman described as being like a very special young brother. when warren rudman first met david souter in the new hampshire attorney general's office, it was there that just does souter served as warren's deputy. they developed a special report. senator rudman called him the most -- called their relationship the most rewarding, and exciting, and

fulfilling experience of his professional life. anyone who knew warren rudman's admiration for justice souter and understood their friendship would appreciate how appropriate it is for him to preside over this celebration warren's life and accomplishments. justice souter's presence here today is the only way to properly honor warren rudman's life and achievements. he had great confidence in justin souter and was his strongest advocate in recommending and confirming him to our nation's highest court. ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce a proud new hampshire son and some one we are imminently proud of. that is just as david souter. -- justice david souter. [applause]

>> thank you very much, senator ayotte for a generous introduction. thank you senator shaheen for seeing to it that we have the residents in warren's own life to get together this afternoon. we are grateful to you. in thinking about what warren would say about this gathering to pay tribute to him if he were here, i keep thinking that despite being called a master of ceremonies, if i could ask warren what my role here is this afternoon, he would probably look at the number of senators and former senator's hair on the platform with me -- here.

he golden gloves d boxer in him would call me the referee. i am honored to be with margaret rudmann and members of the family and all of you in spending some time thinking about and remembering the friend whom we will miss for the rest of our lives. i can tell you this -- as long as memory does serve as, we will not be able to think of warren rudman for very long -- for what he was or what he accomplished at the senate or outside the senate without thinking of good times. he was a statesman here.

i cannot think about the statesman without thinking personally about his generosity and all the laughs we had an all the fun we had together. for example for example, everyone knows that i would never have seen the supreme court if it had not been for the championship of warren rudman. what i learned quickly after my nomination and as i moved toward the confirmation hearings was that the very fact of an association of warren rudman was taken by a great many people and a great many senators as standing for a qualification for the appointment. this fact was born on to me one

afternoon during the course of the confirmation hearings. in the course of those hearings, the chairman of the judiciary committee, senator biden, as he was then, put a pointed question to me, a question that went right to the heart of qualification for the office. he called attention to the fact that i was a rural republican from almost as far north as you can in the north east. he posed the question whether i really could appreciate and hear the voices of people from a vast country who are very different from myself. he said -- how do we know that

you will listen? it was a tense moment in the hearing. thanks to warren, i had an answer. i said -- mr. chairman, anyone who has been a close friend of warren rudman's for an appreciative amount of time knows how to listen. [laughter] [applause] if the hearing had been w been about warren, i could have gotten the agreement on the senators about a lot of other traits about warren that i have learned years back when i served

under him as a senator ayotte mentioned in the attorney general's office. the people who did listen -- every man and woman to whom warren spoke always did and always would hear the same story. no matter which side of an issue you were on, you could learn what warren rudman's position was simply by asking. no matter who you were with you agreed or disagreed with him, you got the same answer and you get the same courtesy. warranted not take the people. he does-- warren to not take the people he disagreed with. but he would do was stick his hand out to him. a very great many of them ended

up among his friends. it is true that a few of the people who opposed him ended up with black eyes. [applause] [laughter] those were only the ones that were foolish enough to throw the first punch. when it came to a fight, warren was an old infantry soldier. he had come face to face close with death in korea. he had come back. it was no one on the face of the earth he was afraid of. there are a lot of other things that he was not afraid of. he was a man of extraordinarily strong conviction. if someone had a good enough argument for it, warren was not afraid to changes mind.

he was not afraid of losing an election, either, which goes a long way to explaining the independence, which has been mentioned this afternoon. it explains why it was impossible for warren rudman ever to end up beholden to money. no political action committee ever owned warren rudman. no interest group, no corporation did, and no big donor did. he was a republican, and the republican party did not own him. he was a new hampshire man all the way through. even the voters of new hampshire did not own him what they won it went against the grain of the national interest as a warrant saw it. that is what he fought for. the interest of the united states.

he fought for it in the senate. he fought for it after words. he did so with the same push and shove as his political hero, theodore roosevelt. he spent the last three years of his life trying to rescue the united states from the threats emanated -- emanating from a divided middle east, from the country's negligence about national securities, and the self-destructive synergy of current deficits and delusional economics. that is a sketch of a great patriot. a great fun, too. i will yield two others who are going to fill in that the trust, beginning with warren's close friend, the majority leader of

the united states senate, senator reid. [applause] >> we just made a deal. [laughter] the vice president and i were going to meet in the morning. we will be in session tomorrow having votes. i also apologize. we have a bill that warren rudman was well aware of. i will have to excuse myself in and try to work that out. we have given john a little bit of time off from the for tonight. i will go back to see if we can speed things up a little.

warren rudman was born with a fighting spirit. he learned that because of him being jewish. he fought anti-semitism. he fought it physically. that is how he learned how to be tough. he wrote that in his memoir. he was a boxer at syracuse university. joe'he commanded an army industry during the korean war. he was decorated for his heroism. this shape his views about the world. i learned in korea, he said, that war was a lousy idea. that is a direct quote from warren rudman. as a senator and national security expert, he believed,

that was a last resort. he was a critic of the iraq war. he worried that our troops were not being taken care enough. there were being asked to much with too little. he considered his critique of iraq for his patron of duty. he spoke out when he volunteered and spent 13 months on the front line in combat in korea. warren had a great respect for the bond shared by those who experienced combat, a medal of honor winner and others. john kerry, bob dole, and

others. all of whom served their country with honor. he said -- if you have had that experience, not much is left and right that will intimate you. nothing did intimate warren rudman. he was fearless in the pursuit for the right. he served on the ethics committee where i first got to know him. i got a call from david souter. he gave me an assignment. i was a new senator. the assignment was not an easy one. they thought i could do it. it worked out just fine. i get to know him very well. on the ethics committee, he was known as mr. integrity.

he was known as mr. integrity in everything he did in life. it is because of him and his high regard for this young man who he recommended be on the supreme court but i was able to make a friend. i have known a lot of people who have served on the supreme court. i have a friend in david souter. we have spent so many -- so much quality time. a lot of that time has been spent talking about warren rudman. we have laughed and found a few times about warren rudman. i for no other reason will always remember warren rudman for helping me develop the relationship with this good man sitting behind me now. he was careless in everything he

did, but he warned of the perils of our mounting national debt before it was the popular thing to do. he believed that fiscal responsibility should be no different than our security of our nation in other ways militarily. he said that fiscal responsibility should be chief among the concerns of the congress, second to national defense. he felt the school security and national security were one in the same. he was right. even though he fought for fiscal responsibility, he was not the sort of fiscal conservative who was disagreeable about it. his rough exterior was such the opposite of a soft interior. he was a good man. the open secret in washington was warren rudman winning sells machine was a large part of gramm-rudman becoming law.

i do not mean in any way to be little the responsibility in the responsibility of center hollins and our man right here. he was really a good salesman. i have to say this about phil graham. mm. phil and i have had a lot of fun over the years. i am famous for saying things i have not -- i'm not supposed to say. i told bill that he -- i have never known him to lose a debate or -- i told phil that i have never known him to lose a debate or when a vote. -- win a vote. he was a center rest never afraid to take on his own party. shortly before announcing he

would not seek a third term to serve people of new hampshire, he took both parties to task. he said -- is it not possible with the brilliance, the good will, the good sense, could we not all come together? he said this on the senate floor. i hope will will flat on senator rudman's -- reflect on the senator's legacy. march, he said this -- we are here for a blink of time. no matter how lofty we think our position is and how well we are thought of, most of us will be forgotten two years after we leave, or less than that. for once, warren rudman was wrong. to paraphrase to and webster -- no time will the face of the --

will not be forgotten now or for the othever. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, senator. >> warren is happy where ever he is. he should be. i have three items that i like to discuss with you. i hope you will forgive me. i got to know warren in the

iran-contra hearings. he was vice chairman. i was chairman. on the first day, we sat together in a private room and i said -- as long as i am chair, i will be against stesubpoenaing the president and vice president of the united states. can you a imagine sitting up there and having the president on the floor raising his right hand, taking the oath and before the world testify being like a criminal? he looked at me and says -- you know damn, that is what i was going to suggest -- you know dan, that is what i was going to

suggest. [laughter] the man who worked it out to the other was how would baker. as -- howard baker. we entered the hearings, and we did not destroy the white house. we knew very little about what was happening. warren had friends in israel. the prime minister said -- if you wish to, i will range a meeting for you and inoye to meet ahead of mossad. it had never been done before. that is what we did. everything was laid out. the third item is a conspiracy. we were so close that we conspired.

[laughter] when saddam hussein began tossing scuds into israel, he felt something had to be done. at the time, there are no anti- missile missiles that were accurate. the only thing we had was the patriarch. we conspired with the secretary of defense and others and said -- how about setting up a battery in israel of patriots? publicize it. tell the iraqi people we will put this into action and put you out of business. we had a battery of missiles

that did not work. [laughter] out it scared the but jesejesus of him. imus warren. -- i miss warren. he and i used to get into all kinds of mischief. one thing we've valued very much -- we are both infantry people. infantry people do not b.s. each other. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, senator. it is my pleasure to kong on on senator mitchell.

>> mr. vice president, so many distinguished guest here, andy rudman family, -- and the rudman family. it is an honor to celebrate the life and public service of a truly remarkable man. as a soldier fighting in north korea, as the attorney general of new hampshire, as a united states senator, as co-chairman of the iran-contra select committee, as the author of much legislation, including the principal author of what he referred to as the rudman budget bill -- [applause] [laughter]

with which senators gramm and hollings were affiliated [applause] . warren rudman serve the people of new hampshire and the united states with the, integrity, -- with coverage, integrity, and distinction. as individuals, we are diminished by the loss of a friend. as americans, we are diminished by the loss of a great leader. i met warren when i entered the senate. we immediately became good friends. we had a lot in common. justice souter refer to new hampshire as almost as far as you can go in the north east. [laughter] well, maine is as far as you

can go in the north east. when warren was attorney general in new hampshire, i have been the united states attorney general and a district judge in maine. many members of justice warren's family lived in maine. sister and her family still live in maine. warren also had a summer home there where he visited often, frequently flying his own plane. over the next two decades, we often worked together. we traveled together a great deal. we had some great times together. when i think of him, the world -- the word "irrepressible" comes to my mind. webster must have had him in mind when he defined the word

as "impossible to repress, restrain, or control." [laughter] warren was also energetic and curious. he was interested in issues, andle, and controversy i life itself. he had an opinion on every subject. he did not keep his opinions to himself. [laughter] express himself in direct, even blunt language, in a manner that captured and held attention. he was such an engaging person, even those who disagreed with him appreciated the intensity of his beliefs and the often colorful nature of his comments. in the senate, when he was on your side, he was a powerful advocate.

when he was on the other side, he was a strong and feared adversary. each of us here has a treasure trove of stories about warren. many of them, which he himself told about his service in the korean war. time permits just a couple. a few years ago, warren was the featured speaker at a dinner event. i had the pleasure of introducing him. in the course of my introduction, i had said he had reached the age where he said whatever was on his mind without any concern about what anyone else might think or how they might react. warren interrupted me with a loud stage whisper -- all of his stage whispers were loud. he said that i was wrong that he had long ago reached that point.

in fact, when he was 9. i told the audience that he was wrong. warren had reached the point of no concern when he was 9 years old. they laughed and applauded. after word, warren said he still did not get it right -- i had reached that point when i was 9 months old. [laughter] in late 2000, violence erupted between palestinians and israelis in what became known as the second in a pot. what leaders created an international commission to make recommendations on how to stop the violence and prevent its recurrence. warren and i were members of that commission. we travel to and from and throughout the middle east. warren was there at his best.

he knew the issues. he knew the leaders. each side had a battery of lawyers. warren love nothing better than arguing and jousting with and interrogating them over every issue that was presented. on one of our visits to gossip, we had a long meeting with the then chairman. when it ended, he as if we would go to a nearby building to meet with a group of what he described as civic leaders. he pointed out that it was a diverse group in there may be some hostile comments. he was confident that we could handle it. we agreed. we went. we entered a large room with about 40 people seated and the table. as we walked four of the seats reserved for us at the head of

the table, warren said -- remember, if you call on me, i am senator o'malley from massachusetts. [laughter] we took our seats and there followed an intensive discussion. a few minutes after its started when the first hostile speaker got up, warren got up and said a -- have to go to the bathroom. he was gone for a long time. when he came back, he did not come and sit at the head of the table. he went and sat with the staff at the back of the room. he sat there for three hours and remained completely silent. three hours later, on the ride back to israel, i said i have known you for 20 years. the matter with the setting of a subject, i have never seen you

remain silent for three hours. he said -- do not worry. i will make up for a tomorrow in jerusalem. he did. for the next two days, he totally dominated the discussion. he briefly was a man for all seasons. he was intelligent, articulate, outgoing. he had a great sense of humor. he was human. like all of the rest of us, he made mistakes. in his life, warren experience his share of tragedy. overall, he led a productive, highly successful, truly admirable life as a great american leader in government and in politics. it was an honor to serve with him in the senate. it was a great privilege to have him as a friend. thank you all very much.

[applause] >> thank you for the northern point of view. [laughter] it is now my privilege to call upon senator bacon. >> mr. vice president, mr. justice, my colleagues, and friends. i was told once they should never invite me here to speak because the length of the remarks can be terrifying. they will not be. i wish to travel to washington to attend this event to express

my friendship for warren rudman, who was indeed my friend. i do not say that about everyone. i do not say it finally. i say it in recognition of the fact that warren was a great senator, a great supporter, but also a good man to help make me what ever i am -- good or bad. he taught me, for instance, that political process in this country is mixed business. that the batter a party composition is not to be despised but to be admired and improved. that is the way that we gather together people of similar views or different views and test their ideas and translate them

into public policy. that became a part of our fundamental commitment when i was in the senate. it remains my commitment today. it remains my interest in public affairs. i share that with all of my friends here. i am pleased to be here. i am especially pleased to be here with my wife. thank you very much. [applause]

>> thank you, senator baker, very much. i have the privilege to call upon the senator who many people thought there's warren's first name, senator gramm. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is good to see my good friends, and mr. vice president, that includes you. [laughter] you have all heard about the two guys that were so close they were joined at the hip. warren rudman and i were so close we were joined at the hip

by a hyphen. you have heard reference to warren's sense of humor. in the seven years that we worked together on gramm-rudman, i got to see it every day. i pondered what i could say about this good man that others are not going to say and say better. in trying to capture his sense of humor, which one of the millions of story should i tell? i decided on a letter. we got letters -- hundreds of them per week -- written to senator gramm rudman as if we were the same person. my inclination was to throw them away, but warren one of us to answer them. we divided them. we got this handwritten letter from a guy from cincinnati,

ohio that said -- have you no compassion? have you know heart? rudman system he take that letter. he broke back -- compassion is what you do with your money, not what you do with someone else's money. then he vote -- it could be that i do not have a hard. i know gramm has a heart. he keeps it on a glass jar on his desk. [laughter] it police every time we talk about balancing the budget. -- it believes every time we talk about balancing the budget. what made him different? one thing that made him different is that in a town where you round in a budget to the nearest $50 million, he had

a profound understanding that every dollar we spent came from some real flesh and blood person. he used to talk about the town meetings in new hampshire where they would debate a half the number about $250. he also understood that there was no possibility of dealing with the deficit if he were dealing with it at the appropriations level because every day every special interest group was looking over your left shoulder sending letters back home and telling people where they you cared about this interest or that interest. he told me -- no one had ever shown up at the appropriations committee to ask him to do something about not spending money. the idea of putting binding constraints on government was a natural approach. warren and i wrote the perfect

law. we've got senator mccain to co- sponsor it. as we try to broaden out from there, we had to start compromising. we never intended the across the board cuts to go into affect. we wanted to make them so terrible that congress would have a shield for they could say to people -- i do not want to do these things. if i do not do that, look at the terrible things that happen. we started off with the idea that the first thing you should cut is the cost of living increases built into entitlements. we explained it to people as the plate glass effect. visited with about 25 senators, we came back and struck it out of the bill.

we continued to work, and we continued to compromise, and at the end of the day, the baby was not as pretty as one we started, but we concluded it was pretty enough to continue on with it. warren rudman was a strong, courageous man. he stood up for principle. he was willing to fight for things. in this era where everyone in this town is focused on compromise, he was a person willing to compromise. he was willing to compromise based on his principles. his principal was -- government ought to pay its bill. government ought operate within the broad constraints that it is a family or business. if anything was worth having, it

was worth paying for. either by cutting some programs or by paying for it with revenues. those are the principles he fought for. those are the principles that we honor him for today. when i think of a, i think of the old poem, "some of life" by longfellow. "wives of all great men all remind us -- can make our lives sublime and leave behind us footsteps on the stand of time. warren rudman footprints on the u.s. senate and the sands of time. many people serve here and are soon forgotten. he is not one of them. the reasons are simple. he was admired.

he had coverage. he had principle. he got things done. he made things happen. he cared more about his country than he did about anything else. as a result, his country cares about him. we care about him. that is why we are here. that is why we are honoring him today. it is a great privilege to me to have my name associated with warren rudman. it is an association that i have always been proud of. it is an association that i am proud of today and that i will always be proud of. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, senator. i now have the pleasure of calling on warren's harness mate and friend, secretary pearson.

-- peterson. [applause] >> mr. vice president, the judge souter, margaret. it has been said that your friends are the family you choose. it is with pride and gratitude that i speak of my brother, warren. it was nearly a quarter of a century ago that i became the lucky beneficiaries of this rapidly deepening and growing friendship. i have been writing books about fiscal responsibility -- perhaps i should say fiscal irresponsibility. the unsustainable and huge promises we were making in the serious question about how we're going to pay for them and who

paid for them. the one thing that these books have in common is they were relentlessly boring. [laughter] i have became the favorite ro astee of ted sorensen. he said -- once you put it down, you'll not be able to pick it up. [laughter] i have also written a book on the demographic transformation of the world called "gray dawn." it was renamed by was"the gray yawn." the books were serious. we needed a bipartisan group to encourage public awareness and

try to get some action. this effort had to be headed by figures of great respect and integrity. it was obvious and investment banker like myself with-charisma was hardly the right person for that. on the democratic side, a democratic senator seemed like an obvious choice. he had a emerge from 92tht 1992 provincial election with integrity. he had a certain brand of charisma. who would be the charismatic republican co-head of this activity? my wife is a yellow dog

democrat. i have trouble signing that. -- and that. she was not very helpful. to her, a charismatic republican is almost she said, the one that came out of the show one night, we notice that a senator of new hampshire i was being interviewed. man, he was something. he was serious, but not somber. he knew the facts of our budget reality and spoke of them with a clarity and a passion. what struck me was how much he cared. he was not just saying the words, but he meant them. my wife said, there is your man.

was she ever right. i asked if he would join this effort, and without a pause, he said, yes. not only was the concorde coalition born, but also it was the beginning of my very special lifetime relationship. he did everything he said he would. is he said he was going to lend his word, he would lend it. he was, in my view, the dearest and best us of friends. indeed, i call him the perfect friend. if he said he would be there, he was there. he was always the same giving human being when it came to love.

he calls me to ponder what it is -- sorry, my vision is not as good as it out to be. maybe it is not worth reading. i do not know. [laughter] he had me pondering a question as to whether it is possible to have a friend that you adore without any ambivalence. i had no ambivalence about warren rudman. there are all kinds of friendships -- there is a special kind and the friendship beliefs andecial releas battles. you are strong together. suddenly you are in each other's lives and then you are each other's friends. i came to cherish that kind of gift from political life in the

example of warren rudman. a word about patriotism, warren was a patriot, but a very special kind of patriot. he was always showing in his public battles the sweetest kind of patriotism, and that is protectiveness. he was protective forward america. he wanted us strong and solvent so that she would do her best to be her best self and do great things around the world and at home. i think we want to think of his last days that he would want us to think about his detective this. -- protectiveness. i am grateful to stand with him

shoulder to shoulder for all of those years. rest in peace, my dear brother. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, mr. secretary. i now have the honor to call and hisren's colleague endeavors in the last few years. samuel. [applause] >> warren did not stop being warren when he got to the senate. he brought the same qualities to the private sector and to the public missions he was quickly

called upon to undertake. i relenting and caring and fair- minded -- unrelenting and caring and fair-minded and always honest. his service as chairman of president clinton foreign intelligence advisory board, i watched him investigate some incredibly delicate and politically sensitive matters. president clinton trusted warren without question to get to the bottom and give him advice free of any personal agenda or partisanship. later as cochairman of the commission of national security with senator hart, he examined the state of homeland defense. he concluded it was terrible. nine months before 9/11, he recommended -- the homeland of security.

it was not that he had some magic nearing to look around the corner of time. he looked hard at the facts. he was not afraid to draw the necessary and sometimes lonely conclusions. warren always look at the facts. like any great lawyer, that was his starting point. he was inpatient with ideology. he wanted the evidence and then you would jot his conclusions and chart his course. we would all do well to embrace today -- embrace that today. as a lawyer, he was a champion. he became the go to person for companies who need someone of impeccable and credibility to get to the bottom of some corporate mess and find out what happened and what needed to be done to make it right.

he brought the same doggedness to the investigations as he did to his work on iran-contra. the remarkable thing is, regardless of his report, no one .uestioned his belly did hvalidy warren collaborated the founding of our firm. he joined it as co-chair. when we faced hard decisions, he got to the heart of the matter. he was a model and a mentor to many. he would go to the office of a and giverson, chartt, them some advice.

quality time with senator rudman sometimes left you breathless. warren d with his illness like everything else in life -- unbounded courage. he was not a passive recipient of his care and treatment. he was copilot. he learned everything there was to know about it. he found the best experts. he plowed ahead with fierce determination. everyone in the firm was proud of him. his presence enhanced us. his wisdom guided us. his integrity fired us. his memory will always lift us up. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i have the honor to call upon warren's good friend, senator

mccain. [applause] >> thank you. wonderful to be with many of my old and dear friends and enemies. [laughter] my friend warren was rough and dissatisfied and impatient and blunt and occasionally profane. he was independent-minded and stubborn. and other words, he was my ideal senator who possessed all of that attributes of an irresistible personality. i like and admire him an awful lot. he seemed to be one of a kind in the senate. the people of the new hampshire ai are sturdy, problem solvers o take responsibilities for themselves and the problems of their time.

they like to get done what can be done, even if it involves the dreaded proposition, compromise. without a lot of posturing are second-guessing, on issues that he believed were elemental questions are right and wrong, he was like his state -- immovable. he introduced me to new hampshire. i mean that literally. he introduced me to thousands of his constituents from berlin -- when i ran for president in 2000. he instructed on how to communicate my message effectively, which is campaign speech for how to talk to people. winning the primary would significantly improve if i learn to talk to the people of new hampshire like warren talk to them, which was to listen to

them first and then respond lightly, -- bluntly, honestly,a ly. argumentative le it was exactly as he predicted. he assured me on primary night as the last votes were counted that he had -- it was precisely as he told me it would be weeks ago. that was warren. he did not want to be surprised by anything that and in the state of new hampshire or the campaign he was involved in. he was a wise man. his wisdom was never more acute

than when he applied it retroactively. [laughter] certainty and his own judgment was earned honestly. it came from doing the right thing not for personal a party interest, but the first priority of his public service. if you are intent on doing right by the people you serve and advancing the public good as he was, god will give you the wisdom to know what the right thing is. the right thing not just to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, but the better thing from the easy thing, the necessary thing from the popular thing, the modest progress from the not good enough thing. that kind of wisdom was manifest, i think, and his assessment. the automatic budget cuts was a bbad idea.

in 1990, i was a member of an organization i would have preferred not to join. i was stuck in what seemed to be an eternity in the ethics committee investigation co- chaired by warren. he was sympathetic to my situation. i was miserable. i believe the committee should've acted swiftly to decide a case against john glenn and me. i think warren thought it should have to. politics made impossible for the committee to reach a just result. warren was intent on achieving a just result. he was my friend. he wish i could've been released from the committee sooner, but he could not and would not value our friendship

more than he valued justice. that was a lesson of integrity i did not enjoy learning, but i am glad i learned it. i'm glad i learned it from the example of warren rudman. the night before the 2000 new hampshire are married, warren graciously hosted a dinner for me at his home. it was very -- before the 2000 new hampshire primary, warren graciously hosted a dinner for me at his home. he gave a toast and said we would win. he said he was proud to be art of a campaign. i remember thinking, win or lose, i had been part of something that warren rudman is proud of. i was a very orchard man indeed. besides being gruff -- i was a

very proud man indeed. besides being gruff, he was first and last, a man of integrity. rest in peace, old friend. we miss you a lot. [applause] >> thank you, senator. i now run the risk of appearing to give undue representation of the state of maine, but i nonetheless call upon --

>> thank you. you might have noticed that vice president biden and i were chatting. he bet me that he would give the shortest speech. [laughter] for me to win that, i would have to sit down right now. warren was my friend. i met him back in 1975. i was campaigning for president ford's election. we became good friends from that time. six years later we would serve in the senate together. we learned we had a lot in common. both our grandfathers immigrated from small towns along the polish border. both of them passed through ellis island. neither warren or i ever knew the real names of our grandparents.

they both lived in the lower manhattan eastside. neither one could make a living there. both of them migrated north. both of them ended up in a main. -- maine. we have a lot of common. my family stayed there. warren's went to move to new hampshire. his motto was, that is the way life should be. we have shyer -- new hampshire's was, "live free or die." [laughter] he lives truly free, and he was prepared to fight for that freedom. we shared a moderate republican philosophy. i always try to approach issues wearing a velvet glove. knuckles.e brass

in fact, we gave him the nickname "sledgehammer." it is a blunt instrument that hurts you when it hits. he was the sledgehammer and all of our hearings. the one thing we talked about this afternoon is his honor, honesty, and his humor. not a word about his humility. that will be a very short subject for me to discuss today. [laughter] he did not believe the meek shall inherit the earth. he loves combat in every way. there's always a sense of combat in warren. he fought for a principal and separation of church and state and he thought for a friend,

justice souter, howard baker, bob dole, and certainly john mccain. last night i spent hours be reading warren's memorir " combat." i found out he was a great judge of character. on senator mitchell, he said, " george could under the most partisan statements and still sound as innocent as a choir boy." [laughter] he said, he is such a man of intelligence and charm, i could disagree with him and still be his friend. on senator biden, "joe was smart, young, ambitious, disorganized, and bursting with energy and enthusiasm." i david souter, he said

something -- each of us have spoken at the podium about warren. he said, "david is my friend. i trust him. i respect him. i like him. he made me think, reflect, and laugh. i think all of us would say the same thing about warren today. he made us think and reflect and laugh. one final thing about his humor -- senator baker was here today. both warren and i voted for a sale. i received a great deal of hate mail because of my name. i'm half irish and half jewish.

i am the only one who can be put on the israeli border and be shot from both sides. [laughter] i was getting all of the hate mail and warren was not getting any of them. i will broadcast nationwide that you are jewish and i am not. that way you will get all of the hate mail. he said, do not do that. you are much more politically secure than i am. besides, you would make a nice jewish boy. [laughter] let me conclude with what my favorite statements -- with one of my favorite statements. it sums up my feelings about warren. " through our great fortune, it is given to us to learn that life is a profound thing. do not pretend to undervalue the rewards of ambition.

we have seen with our own eyes beyond the gold fields the honor. above all, we have learned that whether a man -- will look the one and dudig, only success is to bring to his work a mighty heart." warren rudman was handed a spade in korea and dug down. he was also the senator handed the ax and cord and found ice. always with honor and humor and always with a mighty heart. [applause] >> thank you, mr. secretary.

it is now a pleasure to balance the ticket geographically. [applause] >> i do not know what kind of plane i was on, but i tell you, it was dramatic. it is wonderful to see him from time to time. he called me in january 2010. he said, i have got a real deal for you. cochair the national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform. thanks a million, old pal. i will talk with you later. [laughter] great friends here.

let me tell you a little bit about my pal. when he came into the senate, i had heard of him. my law partner, bob ranck, was a heavyweight champion from wisconsin university. i said this guys was the light heavyweight champion from syracuse, which he was. anyway, he came in and i said, remember bob? heavyweight champion from wisconsin when you were on the team in syracuse? he said, what a left hook. that is what he said. he could knock people out without thing. people thought he was right handed and then he would plow them with that. many news in and outside of the senate.

public interest groups and campaign reform -- it was always about friendship and trust. trust is what is missing in this place. the point of trust with the coin of the realm, and the point of trust is severely tarnished. it is easy to see and it is very sad to those of us who are here. he was a remarkable kind of a guy. love to to fight, especially -- remember those puffing noises he used to make? [laughter] it was usually after a cigarette he had snatched out in the hall. still smoking those things? he said, shut up. nail ya.would mail yo

so, he had no time for the b.s .ers. he was as direct and honest as his steady stare. each of us have mentioned his integrity. if you have integrity, nothing else matters. if you do not have integrity, nothing else matters. he had guts and courage. he would take on the blather's and the bigots. he worked. boy, how he worked. he worked hard. he read the congressional record every night. i said, somebody told me you read the congressional record every night. he said, don't you?

i said, of course, and we moved on there. [laughter] if you are in a debate with him, you better bring a light lunch. he loves the phrase "combat." one would've thought after he had enough of that, when he was the hero of deadly combat, he said it was still fun and somewhat safer in the senate. he always wanted to make things work. that is a sick idea, but it is valid, to make something work and get off your can and get it done. he came up one day to dole and said, where is my bill? immediately coughed it up and he immediately got on with it.

he liked progress and not procrastination. if you are damned if you do and damned if you don't, then do. that is his philosophy. we can think of so many. i was in a tough floor debate. these guys were good. i was feeling very vulnerable. i was defensive and i was on fire. i was really getting worked out . i was ranting rightly, i thought. there was a break in the battle

. up comes warren. don't start jabbing in the air and laying it on him and slugging around him. i said, you, you are giving me that kind of advice when i have had to drag you off the floor and cover you up in the marble room to prevent you from caring people to shreds -- tearing people to shreds? he looked at me with that look. i have seen you in full array. he began to laugh. then a quick hug and the healing of friendship. that is what he had in that big tough core of duty, love, and

friendship. i shall miss the man, this giant of a legislator, this dear friend with the heart of a lion, and a man full of compassion. he fought through more pain and tough times than any of you would know because we were his friends. personal disappointments and hammer blows -- he was always resilient. he held his head high. i have been in the infantry, but it was still part of that legions. he was loyal, patriotic, faithful, there. -- fair. his epitaph should have a big " l" for loyalty.

he will be remembered by all of us who knew him so well and all of you here and those who will know him through his work for years to come. he is the pity me of honor. pitome of honor. i love the guy. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, senator . ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you. please.

thank you. as i sat listening to all of those who served with warren, present company excluded, i thought, what a common link. you are all made of the same stuff. you are all made of the same stuff. i think that is why you can all talk so well of warren rudman. i say to the family, it is an honor to speak here today. everyone knows about how tough warren was. as john mccain said, he was sort of new hampshire. he was fair. it is how i have always looked at warren rudman. one thing that has not been mentioned is what i admired most about warren is the value that

my parents value the most. there was never a man or woman that he never looked that without dignity. some think they know so much better than ordinary people. i think maybe the reason why warren had such a basic belief in the inherent good and capacity of ordinary people -- it was never about ted agree -- pedigree.

to that person in the room who have the most advanced degree. he was as bright as anyone in the room. thing i admired most about him was that i believed that he believed, given half the chance, ordinary plain americans, did not need someone with a higher iq. they didn't need someone with an advanced degree. they didn't need someone to tell them what was in their own interest. people somehow think that they are better. they somehow think that they are not a bubble -- capable of

making their own judgments. a lot of the people that we know in this town and other great centers of power somehow think that only the truly informed, the truly educated, can somehow know what direction this country should take. i often thought the reason why warren thought that is because in combat, like john and others and bob dole and danny, they served next to ordinary people with a grade educations and high school educations -- 8th grade

dictations and high school educations. for me, all of the things that have been said about warren i could repeat and it would emphasize what you already know about them. the reason why i martin so much is the reason i just stated -- the reason why i admired him so much is the reason i just stated. i never met a man in all of the time i have served with the single exception of dan n.o.i. -- daniel who had the grit -- in

ordinary americans. the thing i like best from warren is when he said, just tell them the truth. that is what he always did. he told the truth. we all have a slightly different perspective, his honesty could be searing, but his compassion was always profound. that is a rare combination for any man or woman. he believed that the coolest lieves are often told in silenc. he would come up to you and say, i was flat wrong. let me conclude by saying that

one of the tests in all of my years is that for warren rudman , he said the client of the realm is your integrity, and it is. realmre is a clieoil on of the that is your integrity and it is. when you speak, speak the absolute truth. you can take what they say to the bank and you can take to the bank aired judgment -- their judgment.

justice souter, you recall better than anyone else -- a lot of people were here at the time -- in this very room, we had some very contentious hearings. we had gone through a very unpleasant battle with another justice. i went down to meet with the president, who would come next. your name was put forward. everyone knew only a few things about you. you had an incredible and impeccable background of academically and in terms of the character, but no one else knew much about you at all. on my side of the aisle, there is an overwhelming reluctance to

accept -- and i do not mean this as a political statement -- he said, i guarantee you he will be a conservative justice. that was like putting up a red flag. warren rudman came to see me. he said, joe, i guarantee you this man not only has integrity , that he comes with no agenda. he has an open mind. he will listen. it is not merely he is a great lawyer, but he is a man who will in fact listen. that is why i ask you that question about being able to listen and hear the voices of

the rest of the country. warren rudman said of you, david souter is a brilliant intellectual. he cannot be classified as an ideologue in any way, shape, or form. if you remember, i went into our caucus and said, i am supporting justice souter. it was a cry at the time in our caucus. they asked me, why? i said, because warren rudman said he had an open mind and was not an ideologue. that is the reason why david souter is one of the great cyprian court justices -- great supreme court justices, because

warren rudman said he was not in ideologue. i cannot think of all of the years we have served here many men who could stand up and say, i assure you, you do not know this man, but i assure you he is what i say. he is an incredible guy. we look to the party most admire -- parts we most admire is the way he treated everyone with dignity. on behalf of jill and i, it is truly an houonor. my dad had expression, kid, you

have good blood. [applause] >> i said earlier this afternoon that everyone who listened to warren heard the same story. we have listened to a number of distinguished people this afternoon, and we have heard the same story. we have heard the same story about who warren was and how he went about doing what he did. that story was anticipated by the poet from our part of the world when he wrote this -- the

work is play for mortal stakes -- and for future sakes. everything warren did was for heaven and for future stakes. let us stand adjourned. [applause] [captioning performed bynational captioning institute] [captions copyright nationalcable satellite corp. 2012]

>> former new hampshire senator warren rudman had died at the age of 82. he served as a ranking republican during the iran- contra hearings. he also helped orchestrate the appointment of supreme court justice david souter. if you missed any of this memorial service, we will re-air it on saturday evening here on c-span. lots of briefings and events happening on capitol hill, most relating to the fiscal cliff negotiations. we will show you remarks from congressional leaders on where things stand. we will hear from how speaker boehner, nancy

pelosi, and senator reid. that will begin at 8 p.m. eastern here on c-span. a hearing on the rising costs of -- the rising in autism rates. there was a study released earlier this year that the rise in autism rate --it was up from a previous total. a hearing was held earlier today by the house oversight committee. we will show that later tonight at 10 p.m. eastern. and the united nations gathered in new york today. they voted to recognize the state of palestine. as upgrades to the palestinian status at the un. susan rice said in her speech that the boat places further obstacles in the path of peace.

you can see the vote today in our video library at c-span.org. before the votes took place, defense secretary leon panetta that with the israeli defense minister. they also talked about iran's nuclear row graham. ran's nuclear- proi program. the program is about 40 minutes. >> it is my pleasure to welcome minister barak to the pentagon. i would like to begin by taking a moment to pay tribute. he has made an announcement that he intends to retire from political life in israel. our friendship stretches back a number of decades to i think the beginning -- my time as member

of congress and as a member of the clinton administration. we also worked closely when i was director of the cia and had a number of meetings in that capacity and certainly now as secretary defense. since i became secretary of defense, we have been in regular communication and have built a strong working relationship. i could not have more respect for he is brilliant, strategic mind. he has one of the best in the business. it stems from a warrior heart and his warrior experience. he has had a lifelong and to protecting the state of israel -- lifelong commitment to protecting the state of israel. a few people have such far- reaching and positive impacts on

israeli security and prosperity. i have to say on that u.s.- isreali relationship, it is the strongest -- the relationship between the united states and israel is stronger than any time in history based on our relationship and based on the assistance that we are providing. because of his lifetime public service, whether as a young commander or chief of the general staff or as prime minister or minister of defense, i believe that israeli people are safer and more secure. in no small part because it is determined advocacy, the u.s.- isreali relationship is stronger than it ever has been. that relationship is grounded on shared values.

the values that we have as nations is based on the ironclad commitment of the united states to israel's security. a lot of that was the focus of our discussions today. in our meeting today, minister barak and i reviewed efforts to -- protect israel from missiles from the gaza strip. clear,sident obama made we'r the united states respects israel's writes to protect themselves from rockets fro. we will continue to work with israel and our partner, egypt, to and smuggling of arms into gaza while ensuring the safe passage of humanitarian aid.

no nation should have to live in fear of these kinds of attacks. that is why i'm proud that our two countries operated so closely. the iron dome performed remarkably well during the recent escalation. it intercepted more than 400 rockets bound for israeli population centers for roughly 85% success rate overall. i had the opportunity to see the life-saving capability firsthand in august. we traveled to southern israel and visited the iron dome battery in that vicinity. it success is the testament to the ingenuity of the israeli people and the commitment of the

united states to israel security. i assured the minister that our strong commitment to iron dome will continue in the future. ,t the president's direction the department continues to work closely with israel's minister of defense to ensure that we are making the necessary investments in iron dome. this spring we have announced that we would provide $70 million in fiscal 2012 and top of the 205 million previously appropriated to meet israel's needs for that fiscal year. we will continue to work together to seek additional funding to enable israel to boost iron dome's capacity further to prevent the kind of escalation and the violence we have seen. the events of the past

month_something that -- un derscore something that we have said. the iron dome does not start wars. it helps prevent wars. achieving our long-term goal of security for the israeli people requires the pursuit of a sustainable and comprehensive middle east peace. there remains a need and an opportunity for action on both sides, israeli and palestinian, to move to a negotiated two state solution. we are clear about the challenges. we know what the difficulties are. there is no alternative to negotiating between the two parties. another shared challenge to a long-term security is iraq.

today we discussed our continuing concerns over iran's destabilizing activities and its nuclear program. we will prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. that remains our policy. iran is facing unprecedented pressure from the sanctions, crippling sanctions, that have been imposed by the international community. i continue to believe there is time and space for an effort to try to achieve a diplomatic solution which remains the preferred outcome for both the united states and for israel. after all, minister barak is a battle hardened warrior. like many great military leaders, he is fundamentally a man of peace. he has seen war firsthand. he recognizes we must take every

necessary step to avoid war. as he prepares to close this chapter in his career, i am delighted to be able to recognize this amends -- his immense contributions by bestowing on him the department of defense's highest civilian honor, the distinguished public service award. ehud, thank you for your friendship and dedication to the shared dream of a better and safer and more secure future for israel and the united states. >> i would like to thank you,

my friend, secretary panetta. what a surprise. thank you very much. i would like to thank secretary panetta for his long term friendship and the commitment to the security of israel. besides being a great american leader taking care of america's interests all around the world and our region, he founded open- --and support --

[indiscernible] the iron dome changed the landscape of the conflict and enabled us to act within a short timeframe. we could minimize the damage on the gaza side while our population continuously were shelved by rockets and missiles. those iron dome batteries could not be deployed on time without the direct and urgent support that you gave us, secretary

panetta. the president appreciate your plans to act with us on the future on this same issue. the need is some much larger than what we have right now. we are determined to complete the system besides the operational offensive capacities of the israeli armed forces. the security as well as the intelligence shared between our two countries has never been so close. they were strengthened a lot during the terms of robert gates in the past and now with

secretary leon panetta and president obama. we are highly thankful for this. we share the same believes in freedom, liberty, democracy, human dignity, but u.s. strength and our active vigilance in missions related to israel -- but mainly your role in the whole region, the opportunity for this to flourish. all-around, our region, from syria these days to hezbollah, hamas in the recent weeks, and always iran in the background -- we see all of the region looking at the united states as a source of support and hope against the

bad guys, whoever they are, all around the region. we are highly appreciative. we always keep the right to defend ourself by ourselves when it is needed, but i think the role of the united states is invaluable in our region. we are looking for -- we do not desire war. we pursue peace. but unfortunately the neighborhood is extremely tough. no place for the fainthearted. there is no second opportunity for those who cannot defend themselves, no mercy for the week. we see this daily in syria and in other corners. but we are determined to flourish in spite of all of these developments. we are determined to make israel

stronger and more secure. we will always stretch one hand to look for any opportunity to knock on any door, open any window, to find a way to make peace. we will always be ready with -- ready to pull it if it becomes ultimately necessary. on this vision, hopefully one of our region coming to in my term as minister of defense -- i can tell you that from my experience, after political life there is real life waiting us. i am sure we will find a way to enjoy life without losing sight of the interests of our

nation's. we will always have part of our part with the defense and intelligence issues and challenges. i thank you once again very much for the long decades of friendship and for this honor. we hold our relationship with you dependent on the defense establishment -- i hold my relationship with you highly. thank you very much. now we have something to give to you. it is a small iron dome. it does not explode. do not worry. it is just to give you a small memento of our appreciation. >> thank you very much. i appreciate that.

>> i want to give you one more memento -- this was at the iron dome site. i wanted you to have that. representing our friendship. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> we have time for a few questions. >> mr. minister, a question for you about the expected vote this afternoon in the un on granting the palestinians nonmember observer status. what are the implications of it for israel? what does that change for israel? >also, for secretary panetta, a question on afghanistan and the

2014 mission. could you sketch out for us your best guess on what the counter- terrorism mission ought to be? there is a very small al qaeda presence in afghanistan. should it include other targets beyond al qaeda? >> should i start? we think that the decision to go to the general assembly and ask for a nonmember status is a mistake. i think this view is shared by you and others around the world. i think nothing can replace on the way to solve the substance matters of our conflict, nothing can replace the direct negotiation with conditions. i believe it should start -- in

israel, we would see it delayed another three months or so and then start negotiations with no preconditions. with the next government of israel. as you know, our objective -- i believe it will have undoubtedly a majority vote. it will mean that they are in nonmember states. some people are worried about the possibility that once they are a nonmember state they might try to go to the icc or whatever. i do not think it can change. in a way, it is the right way to make things work. i strongly believe that ultimately it is not a zero sum game between us and the palestinians.

we are not making them a favor by opposing -- they are not making us a favor by keeping their sights on two states or two nations. we will call on both people in the long term to find a way beyond the symbolic steps -- of course it is a symbolic step. not in line with the wishes of many palestinians -- to go beyond the symbolic steps into the reality, to make painful and tough decisions on both sides. because the solutions, the way to solve a conflict is quite clear to a majority of palestinians, a majority of israelis. there are dreams on both sides -- but we should see reality after the election results. >> it does not have any concrete

indications? >> it has certain implications -- they will become a nonmember state, having a place in the u.n. as a nonmember state. i do not think it will have a huge influence or major impact on any issue, but somewhere in the future they will try to raise issues from the past and they will go to some organization. i do not see a major consequence. i think the most important is to open direct negotiations, even if we cannot agree on a fully fledged peace, we can accomplish something better than the status quo or what might be created by not doing anything. >> the fundamental mission in

afghanistan is to establish in afghanistan -- an afghanistan that can govern itself and insure that al qaeda never again find a safe haven in afghanistan from which to conduct attacks on the united states or any other country. the gold here is an enduring presence. therefore, that will direct itself toward three important missions. one is obviously counter- terrorism to insure that we continue to go after the al qaeda targets that remain in afghanistan. we clearly have had an impact on their presence in afghanistan, but the fact is they continue to show up. intelligence continues to indicate that they are looking

for some kind of capability to be able to go into afghanistan as well. that is something we have to be continually vigilant in terms of protecting against. that will be the fundamental thrust of the enduring presence. we will also continue to assist our mission to help develop the capability of the afghan army. the third mission will be to continue to provide enabling capability so that we can provide the support needed for our forces as well. >> any size of force that would be adequate? >> that is exactly what is being discussed. >> mr. secretary, and for both of you, regarding syria, can you completely rule out that there has been no u.s. involvement in

giving service to air missiles to the opposition? what consideration are you giving to lethal aid or military involvement? clearly, mr. assad is hanging on. minister, what is your assessment now of the military necessity to strike iran's nuclear program? what reason do you have, if any, to believe sanctions are working, as mr. panetta said, if even now iran is able to send rockets into gaza? >> with regard to syria, let me say that it is critical that we have not provided any of those kinds of missiles to the opposition forces located in syria. our focus has been -- we do

provide assistance. it is not lethal assistance. we are obviously continuing to work and humanitarian relief to the refugees that have been impacted. and we continue with the assistance of israel and other countries in the region, continue to try to monitor closely what is happening with the cbw sites in that area. but our main focus right now has been to work with other countries and try to provide whatever assistance we can to the opposition so that ultimately it can become not only an effective force but ultimately can come together to provide the kind of political transformation that we think it's ultimately going to be needed once assad comes down. >> i have nothing to add to what was said.

it is an extremely disturbing situation. i think that is too early to talk about what will happen the morning after with all these groups that are working now. what might happen with those weapons -- we have reason to be worried, but i think it is criminal behavior on a global scale what he is doing to his own people. using helicopters and jet fighters and tanks, killing his own people. and somehow it is not easy to

mobilize and a sense of purpose and unity and political will to translate our feelings about what happens there into action. it is one of the lessons i have from the last few years in the middle east. going to iran, the kind of physical attack option is an option that should remain on the table. of course, we would love to see some heavenly intervention that would stop, that they give up on nuclear intentions or have the arab spring arrived in the city of tehran, but you cannot build

a strategy based on these wishes or prayer's. sanctions are working. they are helping more than anything i remember in the past. but i do not believe these kind of sanctions -- will they sit there and the table and look at each other and decide the game is over? they cannot stand it anymore. they're going to give up the nuclear -- i do not see that happening. during the coming year and hopefully before the term, from the point of view of israel and united states as well, they will be coerced into putting an end to it this way or another. >> do you believe that unity

will occur in 2013? therefore, when mr. panetta says they will be prevented, how else will they be prevented other than by military option? >> i saw what happened in 2012 in the summer and in 2011. the iranian leadership has a lack of tools in their arsenal -- a lot of tools they can play with to delay. when they decided to repossess some of the 20% in ridged uranium into fuel for the research reactor. they stopped moving toward what you call the 20% amount that might be used for a bomb, when

they used diplomacy they decided to delay, to stop any kind of action for one year. it would be delayed by one year. it is beyond our control. but we should be attentive to the fact that they are coming closer to military nuclear capabilities. you cannot put one line on one parameter or measure and say that it is the gestalt that should be contemplated continuously to make sure we are not suffering from a delusion. we ignore small steps they are doing. cumulatively, it can emerge as crossing without us observing it. i believe there is a consensus

among the intelligence communities in the world and the iea -- we all see the same, basically the same picture. you always see basically very similar intelligence and basically the same kind of notice. over the question about the prognosis, what to do about it, here we have differences. they should be better discussed behind closed doors. >> do you think iran will do it? >> i am confident iran is trying to go in the footsteps of pakistan and north korea and is very cautious not to fall into what happens to khaddafi or in

different circumstances to the south africans. they do not want to find themselves in the situation of iraq opr syria. >> secretary panetta, what about the success of the iron dome? we know how much money the u.s. has invested in this. we also understand the u.s. army has put out a request for procurement for its own iron dome, leaning towards a version that would take years to develop and billions of dollars that the u.s. taxpayer frankly does not have right now. why should the u.s. army not use the iron dome that is already tested? do you wish the u.s. military would purchase the iron dome? following up on iran, the window has not yet closed for a military option against iran -- why do you think it is the right time to step down as defense

minister? you feel there is unfinished business still? >> on the iron dome question, i spent some time going through our 2014 budget request. we are in the process of evaluating all the requests by the different services with regard to what capabilities they want to have in the future. in doing that, we have to pay attention to the resources and what is available, and whether or not it fits in the financial resources we have set aside in order to implement our defense strategy. my approach to that is, what ever approach they want to focus on has to be cost-effective. that almost automatically means

that we had better look at all options before we come down and make a final decision. >> the result of iron dome was extremely impressive. we have soared more than 1500 rockets absorbed -- absorbed more than 1500 rockets. 500 rockets were intercepted. about 85% of the interceptions succeeded. only 55 rockets out of the 1500 ended up falling in urban areas. the iron dome was extremely successful at extrapolating the

trajectory and not wasting a missile on a rocket that was going to land according to the trajectory in an open area. it is extremely successful, and you know, in our country a day of a fully fledged fighting costs $1.5 billion. just shorten a war by five days you ended up cutting the whole investment in the system. knowing by the other side you have set an effective system, especially when they are equipped with many more interceptors, it will charge the

balance on the other side. it is a logical deterrent, not psychological -- they are exposed to the effectiveness of our air force. once again, there is a development, very quickly. cycles of operation that started working. they were able to have extremely accurate launching and close the cycle is very quickly. it was with minimal collateral damage. we just accomplished once again

with the general support of the pentagon and the administration, a cycle of tests for the second layer of the multilayer interception system named david's sling./ it was extremely successful. they metaphysically the target in the air with much higher velocity than any iron dome. it is extremely promising. but the interceptor is 10 times more expensive. we tried modifications to improve to the fullest possible extent the performance of iron dome so we will stay with the relatively cheaper interceptor for most of the challenges.

deal withavid's sling the rest of the threats. --this project, wes are working together. of course, we will be sharing the ideas with you. the second question, i would prefer not to answer -- we will talk about it at the end of 2013, depending on what will happen. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, everyone. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> the program began under a man who was one of the advisers to

president franklin roosevelt to document the conditions under which people were living. this was back when we did not have television. we had radio, but a lot of places did not have electricity so they could not listen to the radio broadcast to find out what was going on in other parts of the country. he was an economist from columbia university. he was the head of the project. in 1939, when kodak instituted color from, they sent on to him to have his photographers try it out. kodak was trying to establish a new market for products and wanted people who would know how to use it effectively to try it out and publicize it. >> america of the 1930's and 1940's comes to life as the library of congress curator

shares some of the 1500 color photographs taken during the depression and world war ii. sunday at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. eastern, part of american history tv on c-span 3. >> on capitol hill today, a lot of events and briefings happening relating to the fiscal cliff negotiations. coming up in half an hour we begin to show you the remarks from congressional leaders on where things currently stand. we start with house speaker john boehner. also house minority leader nancy pelosi and senate democratic leader harry reid. that starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern. tomorrow on "washington journal," a congressional historian gives the history of the filibuster rule and the changes senate leader reid is pursuing. then a guest from politico examines tax credits aimed at families and businesses that will be impacted if congress

does not act on the so-called fiscal clef. beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. today in new york at the united nations, the general assembly voted 138-9 with 41 countries abstaining to recognize the state of palestine. it updates the palestinian status to a non member observer state at the united nations. after the vote, u.s. ambassador to the u.n. susan rice said the vote places further obstacles in the path of peace. here are comments -- are about five minutes. >> thank you, mr. president. for decades, the united states has worked to help achieve a comprehensive end to the long and tragic arab-israeli conflict. we have always been clear that only through direct negotiations between the parties can the palestinians and israelis achieve the peace that

both deserve. two states 4 two peoples with a sovereign, a viable, an independent palestine living side-by-side in peace and security with a jewish and democratic israel. that remains our goal, and we therefore measure any proposed action against that clear yardstick -- will it bring the parties closer to peace, or push them further apart? would that help israelis and palestinians return to negotiations, or hinder their efforts to reach a mutually acceptable agreement? unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path to peace. that is why of the united states voted against it.

the backers of today's resolution saying they seek a functioning, independent palestinian state at peace with israel. so do we. but we have long been clear that the only way to establish such a palestinian state and resolve all permanent issues is through the crucial work of direct negotiation between the parties. this is not just a bedrock commitment of the united states. israel and the palestinians have repeatedly affirmed their own obligations under existing agreements to resolve all issues through direct negotiation, which has been endorsed frequently by the international community. the united states agrees -- strongly.

today's grand pronouncements will soon fade and the palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed. save that the prospect of a durable peace has only receded. the united states therefore calls upon both parties to resume direct talks without preconditions on all the issues that divide them. we pledge that the united states will be there to support the party's vigorously in such efforts. the united states will continue to urge all parties to avoid any further provocative actions in the region, in new york, or elsewhere. we will continue to oppose firmly any and all unilateral actions in international bodies or treaties that circumvent or

prejudge the very outcomes that can only be negotiated, including palestinian statehood. we will continue to stand up to every effort that seeks to delegitimize israel or undermine its security. progress toward a just and lasting two-state solution cannot be made by pressing a corrine of voting button here in this hall. neither does passing any resolution create a state where none exists or change the reality on the ground. for this reason, today's vote should not be misconstrued by any as constituting eligibility for un membership. it does not. this resolution does not establish that palestine is a state. the united states believes the

current resolution should not and cannot be read as establishing terms of reference. in many respects, the resolution prejudges the very issues it says ought to be resolved during negotiation, particularly with respect to territory. at the same time, it virtually ignores other questions such as security, which must be solved for any viable agreement to be achieved. president obama has been clear in stating what the united states believes is a realistic basis for successful negotiations. and we will continue to base our efforts on that approach. the recent conflict in gaza is just the latest reminder that the absence of peace risks the presence of war. we urge those who share our

hopes for peace between a southern palestine and a secure israel to join us in supporting negotiations, not encouraging further distractions. there simply are no shortcuts. long after the votes have been cast, long after the speeches have been forgotten, it is the palestinians and the israelis who must still talk to each other and listen to each other and find a way to live side-by- side in the land they share. thank you, mr. president. [applause] >> and had a today's united nations vote, a bipartisan group of legislators on legislation that would penalize palestine on its bid for recognition for statehood -- it would shut down

the palestinian office in washington and withhold u.s. -- >> this afternoon, it is anticipated that the palestinian authority will be granted some form of u.n. membership. our great concern as republicans and democrats is that this is a provocative, and healthy step that could undermine the peace process. all of us support a two-stage solution for the palestinian people to live in a dignified fashion, a state controlled by palestinians, secure and prosperous, side-by-side with an israeli state that can live in peace without perpetual fear of destruction from their neighbors. that is the only way we can resolve the issue. un membership status provided to the palestinians undermines the

peace process. the last thing the u.n. or any other body should do is encourage the parties not to sit down and talk with each other. long story short, the biggest fear i have and i think my colleagues have is that if the palestinians achieve this status it will not be very long until the palestinians begin to use the un as a club against israel rather than seeking peace. our big fear is that the international criminal court would be available to the palestinians potentially to file complaints against the idf and every other institution in israel, and would marginalize the jewish state. currently, the palestinian authority cannot use the international criminal court as a weapon against israel. our fear is that this new status will allow them to do so. in response, we have come up

with a bipartisan amendment that does two things. it tells the palestinian authority, if you make a petition to the international criminal court against the state of israel, if you go down the international criminal court wrote, that would throw the peace process in a ditch and we believed it would undermine any chance of a peaceful solution any time soon. we will cut off funding. the last thing we want to do is break a relationship between the palestinians that is mutually beneficial, but the date the palestinians use their u.n. status to try to marginalize israel and their national criminal court, it will be clear to theus we are investing in an unreliable partner. we do not mind struggling --

helping struggling nations when it is in our national security interest. i do not mind investing in people who have different virs, but i will not tolerate support -- views, but i will not tolerate sending hundreds of millions of dollars to win entity that will take any standing in the united nations and use it in a destructive way. i cannot think of a more destructive scenario for the future of the peace process than one complaint after another been filed against the idf when a pilot dropped the bomb in a wrong place after being attacked by hamas or hezbollah -- that is an unfortunate incident, but one not have the israel defense forces and the jewish state be sent to an international body for a political show trial. our money will not support that kind of behavior, and it will destroy any hope of peace. to the palestinians -- your fate

is in your own hands. if you choose to use the international criminal court as a vindictive form in trying to marginalize the peace process and go after israel in that venue, the american people will no longer feel like you are worthy of our support. finally, this provocative act of joining the united nations by the palestinians -- we have warned them, do not go around the peace process. do not go around israel directly to the un. that is a detrimental way to find peace. we will shut their office down in washington. their office in washington has been opened because of a waiver that has been around since 1987. i believe their actions of applying for un membership under the law will require the office in washington to be closed. our amendment will cut out funding to the palestinians if they apply to the international criminal court against the state of israel, and will

automatically required shutting down of the washington office by applying for membership. >> thank you, senator. it is once again a pleasure to work with you and others to discuss a very serious matter. we are so disappointed with the palestinian authority's intention to seek nonmember status at the un. first, it is outrageous -- the palestinians rebop president obama's personal appeal and insisted on pursuing this distinctly and help the initiative. the palestinian actions violate both the letter and spirit of the oslo accords. it is a huge setback for the prospect of restarting peace talks with israel. it will also open a door to palestinian efforts to conduct legal assaults against israel in a variety of international

forums, most importantly the international criminal court. this is an unfortunate outcome. what the palestinians are saying, if they were go to the international criminal court, which this city will when they achieve this status, is we do not want to negotiate with israel. we want to ostracize israel, we want to say there should be no israel -- totally contradictory to the belief in the two states. if they're going to say that israelis to defend themselves in one way or another should be treated as criminals for defending the right of israel to exist, what does that say about their belief in peace and their willingness to recognize israel? so it is a very unfortunate outcome that the united nations will grant nonmember observer status at the u.n., not only for what it does at the u.n., but

more significantly for what it allows to happen at the international criminal court. we think it really hurts any kind of direct talks. president abbas, now in the evil putdotion of trying to hamas t hamas, is threatening to use this enhanced status to pursue these initiatives. we want to talk about bipartisan issues -- you have got one right here. we are committed to using every means at our disposal to ensure that the u.n. general assembly vote does not serve as a precedent for elevating the status of the plo and other bodies -- therefore, the legislation we have proposed as an amendment to the national defense authorization act would first cut off all foreign aid to the palestinian authority if they serve any legal claims against israel and the

international criminal court. we know that aid is important to them. we want to see prosperity in the territory under the palestinian authority's jurisdiction, but when they do this they are just throwing away hopes for peace in any way. we believe is appropriate and write and hope it will not come to that. we would immediately shut down the palestinian office here in d.c. unless it is determined by the president the palestinians have entered into meaningful negotiations with israel. if they are meaningfully negotiating, these things would not happen. over the past year, palestinian leaders have indicated their intention to apply for full membership in the international criminal court. as i said, this would unfairly target israel. it would isolate israel. it would prohibit israelis from

traveling in the world. it is saying, we do not want peace with israel. we do not want israel, plain and simple. so we will stand united preventing this from happening. we will do everything a power to block the palestinians from using the international criminal court to assert palestinian claims against israel, to isolate israel, to say what they really mean to say, that israel should not be a country and there should not be two states because they do not believe in a jewish state. that is what they would be sent. >-- saying,.. . >> we have great concerns about what is happening in the united nations general assembly, where they are expected to vote to change the status of the palestinian commission to stay with observer status -- a state with observer status. i'm concerned about this unilateral action by the palestinian authority to circumvent the peace process. in their effort for declared

statehood. a vote at the general assembly is not about achieving peace. it is not about achieving stability in the middle east. it is rather a political maneuver. the best path to peace in my opinion is through direct negotiations between those in israel and the palestinians, not through manipulations in united nations. the international community should not be united -- should be united in pushing both sides to negotiating together, negotiating a table, not rewarding one of them for violating previous agreements. congress needs to make it clear to the palestinian authority that its actions will have serious implications and consequences. to me, the path to peace in the middle east is not through the united nations.

>> let me join my colleagues in saying i believe president abbas's misguided actions at the un will not bring peace to the palestinian people. it will not help restart peace negotiations with israel. at the end of the day, despite what they think may be a strategic set, it will not bring political advantage to the palestinian authority. the day after the resolution, nothing will have changed, including america possibly bring support for israel during this period of political turbulence in the middle east. this unilateral approach to seeking to gain sovereignty on the part of the palestinian authority is provocative, rust -- reckless, and threatens to inflame passions in the region. in order to achieve the creation of a palestinian state with clear boundaries, sovereignty -- there has to be a negotiated settlement. there are no shortcuts here. the only way to achieve a true

lasting peace for the palestinian people is through comprehensive negotiations and dialogue with israel. today's but will not mean the palestinians will in any real way have their own state. but it could mean the palestinians will have a route for to membership in un agencies that could provide financing and, more importantly, to join the international criminal court, where they may simply use the court to ultimately use it as a vehicle to attack israel. to marginalize israel. to try to create an environment in which already there is a tremendous effort in the world not only to marginalize israel but to discredit it. i certainly want to call on the icc to deny future membership to a palestinian authority as a non member observer state before any

final peace agreement is reached. i believe that should the icc attempts to adjudicate any matter proposed by the palestinians, it should be the policy of the united states to terminate u.s. association. in this effort, we join our colleagues in making sure we send a clear message to the palestinians, police and an enormous amount of money to. they cannot have their offices here -- who we send it enormous amount of money to. they cannot have their offices here if they do not engage in a process where they negotiate peace with the state of israel. if they seek these alternative means, we will not and by and allow the palestinians to obeyed the peace process by pressing their political costard and other means. will not provide financial or political support or offices

here in washington. if they are not serious about pursuing a real peace through renegotiations. there is only one path to peace -- israel and the world needs to the palestinians to be a serious partner in peace. if they are, will provide our financial and political support. if not, will terminate that support. that choice is theirs. >> can i follow on what bob said. in 2012, we appropriated $495 million in funding to the palestinians. $395 million in economic support. $100 million in international law enforcement. in 2013, it was $440 million. the 2012 mike has not yet been released because a provocative -- money has not been released because of provocative behavior by the palestinian authority. this is $1 billion of funding

that could be affected if the palestinians decide to buy a complaint with the international criminal court against israel. many americans would say good, that is $1 billion we can use at home. my response is that i think the best thing for america is a two- stage solution. i do not mind helping the palestinian people who have many challenges to get a good economy and a rule of law nation established on the west bank. but i cannot along with my colleagues in good conscience send $1 billion to an organization who is trying to use the political will of the united nations and the international criminal court to undermine the last, best chance for peace. being a military person myself, i will not sit on the sidelines and use american dollars in a situation where the palestinians can make every idf member a war criminal simply by defending the sovereignty of the state of israel.

in the last conflict, there were over 1000 rockets fired into israel. to the american people, what would we do with one rocket hit american soil? not only has the israeli military been measured, you have to romer -- remember they left gaza. hamas is a terrorist organization and now last best partner in the peace process has but the american people and congress in an untenable situation by going around the process, petitioning the united nations to set up the international criminal court to marginalize the jewish state. you have lost your best partner in terms of economic growth and political stability. the palestinian people reside in the west bank -- if you go down the road being described, abusing the international criminal court to marginalize the jewish state and make idf

members were criminals, you will have no one to blame but yourself for losing the money, but the most important thing you will have lost is the respect and support of the american people, why things are indispensable when it comes to peace. >> have you spoken to senator levin? i'm curious, why not just cut off the aid? >> we have not informed senator levin yet. this is a reaction in real time to what we think is a very provocative destabilizing of that that will happen at 3:00. why not cut the money off now? we are all trying to salvage the best, last best chance for peace, which is direct negotiations. the four of us represent republican and democrats who have different views on many things but do you and for peace

in the middle east. we believe in a two-state solution. we believe and the palestinians having their own state. the reason we're not cutting off funding is to try to restart the process by putting the palestinians on notice -- your fate is in your own hands. he did you file a complaint with a international criminal court you will have told all of us who could care less about peace and are trying to destroy the israeli state. we will not be part of that. hopefully they will think about what they're doing in the future and will have a chance to get back to peace. >> i agree. look -- as asset in my remarks, it is a clear message to the palestinians. the choice is yours. we could have preempted that choice. the choice is yours. if you return to in negotiation, we are dead. if you do not and pursue either the international criminal court or any other entity that seeks to marginalize or somehow

discredit the state of israel and appropriately, -- inappropriately, then you have made your choice, and that as a consequence. we think this is a fair way to make a clear statement to the palestinians about how in some respects their future is in their hands. they will make that determination. >> the future regarding the american people's support is in their hands. i have not looked -- >> i am a statesman. one more. >> susan rice has come under fire for her handling of benghazi and other issues. is a jasper to redeem christoph? >> i am not -- is this a chance for her to redeem herself? >> i am not blaming anybody. the administration is engaged

personally with president abbas. i am saying to palestinians -- who created this problem and this is a major problem for u.s. palestinian relations. the peace process -- this is not about what we have done. this is about what they have done. i am not here to criticize the administration. the vote will be overwhelming. to the international community, if you have any idea what you are doing here -- it may be popular at home. the most popular thing for me at home would be to send out aid to everybody. we are not going to do that. i hope the international community understands the you are doing something that is undermining the peace process. >> friday on "washington journal, " a congressional historian gives a history of the filibuster rule in the senate and explains the changes that senator harry reid is pursuing. at 8:00 a.m., a guest from politico examines a key tax

credits aimed at families and businesses that would be impacted if congress doesn't act in the so-called fiscal quest. "washington journal" is live at starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> at the end of world war ii, we had 12 million men under arms. we had 2000 flag officers and generals. today we have 1000 officers and generals and 1.2 million under arms. the ratio is totally out of line. we all must now have an admiral for every ship in the navy. not a captain, an admiral. so what we have done is go through and look at areas where we could not necessarily save all the money but we could transfer responsibilities out of the pentagon and consolidate programs and save us a significant and that of money. >> you can talk with oklahoma

senator tom coburn about the fiscal cliff, affordable care act, and the future of the republican party on book tv. the senator has written several books including his latest "the debt bomb." join our conversation with your calls, e-mails, tweets, and comments with medical doctor and senator tom coburn. live sunday on c-span 2. >> he worked his way up into harvard law school and then at the urging of his brother in the great western illinois -- immigrated west to illinois, where the lead mining industry was in its heyday. he arrived by stagecoach and train and arrived on steamboat in this muddy mining town. he boarded himself in a log cabin, established a law

practice in the log cabin, and slowly worked his way up and became a very successful lawyer. he then got involved politically, ran for congress, serve for eight terms, and then befriended abraham lincoln, obviously from illinois. then ulysses s. grant. as they were on the rise, washburn stayed with them in a close colleague during the civil war. after grant was elected president, he initially appointed him secretary of state. at that time, washburn became very ill. his family feared for his life. after 10 days, he submitted his resignation to president grant. grant regretfully accepted his resignation. over the next several months he regained his health, which was always very frag